Daniel (The Fallow Deer Dama dama). Góry Bukowe (Bükk hegység) 2017

„One day, I travelled to every part of this bush if perhaps I might see the way to my town, but instead of seeing the way I saw an antelope. When I was about to shoot him with the gun, he was running away and I myself was chasing him to kill him until he reached a big tree then he ran to the other side of it (…). Having approached the tree before I could touch the trigger of my gun there appeared a very beautiful lady and as I was startled immediately I saw that it was that antelope changed to this lady (…).

‘Now, my earthly husband, I have the wonderful power to change to any form of creature (…)’. But when she said so, I told her to change to some form at that moment to let me see. Then she said — ‘look at me carefully’. First, she became an antelope with two short horns on its head, secondly a lioness and roared at me several times so that I nearly died for fear, thirdly, a big boa constrictor which made me fear most when she was coiling round my body, espe-cially when it opened the mouth very wide as if it wanted to swallow me, and after this a tigress and jumped on me at the same time (…).

I was unable to sleep as I was always thinking in mind how she had been changing herself to various fearful animals and also thinking that perhaps — ‘She may change again to another form and kill me in the midnight’. But having watched her for some hours and believed that she had no such harmful aim in mind at all, then I fell asleep unnoticed. Again to my great surprise there were ‘all-coloured lights’ which lighted and shone as diamonds on to every part of this house, even I tried my best to find out from where the lights were coming, but it was in vain, because it was not quenched both day and night. As it sur-prised me greatly I asked her about it, she replied — ‘the power of lights is among my supernatural powers’.

This is how I married for the second time in the Bush of Ghosts, but I was not baptized with fire and hot water as I was in the 8th town of ghosts when I mar-ried for the first time, and this was easier than that, because we did not go to any church, but she is a ‘super-lady’ who has the power to do everything”.

Amos Tutuola The Super Lady w: My Life in the Bush of Ghosts (1954, fragm.)